Updated 12:48 am, Sunday, March 24, 2013

STORRS -- The kid was supposed to spend the season watching and learning all the things he needed to watch and learn in order to one day replace those in front of him in the UConn defensive line pecking order.

Elijah Norris -- E.J. to his teammates -- had first caught head coach Paul Pasqualoni's eye as he watched film of the high school senior at Archbishop Carroll in Upper Marlboro, Md. After seeing about 10 plays of Norris looking like a one-man wrecking crew, Pasqualoni basically told defensive line coach Hank Hughes to offer him a scholarship.

But in the first game against UMass last season, Jennings, a redshirt senior, injured his knee and was lost -- his career was over. Two weeks later against Maryland, Joseph, a true senior, tore his left Achilles and was lost for the season. Suddenly, Norris wasn't just watching, he was playing.

"It helped me a lot last year because I basically got thrown out there," said Norris, a 6-foot-3, 247-pound sophomore defensive end. "And that's helped me for this season because I know what I need to work on and what I have to do to improve to be like Jesse (Joseph) and Teddy and Trevardo (Williams) who just left. I know what I have to do to match their speed and their intensity level to make me a better player."

Along with redshirt sophomores Angelo Pruitt and B.J. McBryde, redshirt juniors Tim Willman and Shamar Stephen, and redshirt freshman Julian Campenni, Norris shared time on the defensive line as Pasqualoni looked for combinations to try to replace Jennings and Joseph. In seven games, Norris made just two tackles but impressed Pasqualoni enough with his pass-rushing abilities and his knowledge of the position to become an important piece of this season's defensive line plan.

"(Last season's experience) is going to mean a lot," Pasqualoni said. "E.J. Norris ... all those guys. It's going to mean a lot. We redshirted (DT) Mykal Myers, so he's up now. We redshirted (DE) Andreas (Knappe). He's up now. All those guys have worked hard and I'm anxious to see those guys go in and play in the scrimmages and play on their own and see exactly just what they can do this spring to try and make us a better team."

For most freshmen, that first season, the "experience" you gain comes mostly from practice. You work with the veterans, they show you the ropes and some of the tricks of the trade, and you put all that away in the memory banks for next season -- and the three after that -- because normally, a redshirt year is the first order of business. But for Norris, that experience came in the line of fire, against top Division I offensive linemen.

"I got a lot of game experience," said Norris, who was limited by a shoulder injury last season. "Most freshmen don't. My experience wasn't coming from getting reps in practice with the 2's and the 3's but from getting that game experience. I learned how to bring it to game level instead of practice level. I knew how to flip that switch and say, `Hey, it's time to bring it up.'"

Norris also learned a lot by watching Wirth, who posted 51 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 3½ sacks.

"Ryan was incredible," Norris said. "He knew everything. He ran every play. He knew his techniques. He knew what his assignments were. He was a great teacher, which rubbed off on me because I saw it every day. Watching him showed me that I could do it as well.

"There was a play against Buffalo where he chased the ball down, forced a fumble and recovered it. That's what coach always talks about, show that kind of intensity, that mentally, every play. That's what Ryan had and that's something I want to show that I have."

And although Wirth and Williams are gone, looking to take the next step in their football careers (Williams recently took part in the NFL combines), Norris continues to keep in touch with his former defensive line mates about his progress.

"I talked to Trevardo (recently) and he told me to start small and build your way up," Norris said. "As a freshman and sophomore, he didn't have that many sacks, but he kept building and then as a junior, he came out with 10, 12 sacks ... same thing as a senior. He progressed and that's what I want to do. Start small and build myself up.

"Right now, my goal is to get my first sack. I wasn't too lucky last season with my shoulder injury, but my goal right now is to get better with the shoulder, get better in the weight room, get better with my skills and footwork, and then, I'm looking to get maybe three sacks. I don't want to set my sights too high."